PGA Tour star hates Rory McIlroy-backed change – | Golf News

Erik van Rooyen had a strong efficiency at The CJ Cup Byron Nelson, incomes his spot in Thursday’s $20 million Truist Championship. However, this did not stop the South African from criticizing the PGA Tour’s signature occasions.

Van Rooyen secured his place in the event at Philadelphia Cricket Club by making it into the Aon Swing 5, following his second-place end at TPC Craig Ranch on Sunday. The 35 yr previous ended the event at 23-under-par, a rating that would usually be enough to win, but he was outplayed by Scottie Scheffler.

The world No. 1 completed an spectacular 31-under to take the title. As a two-time tour winner who earned his card in 2020, Van Rooyen has been a constant participant on the circuit. Thus, qualifying for a signature occasion is a important accomplishment and presents a great alternative on a bigger platform.

Signature occasions have been launched in 2023. Their smaller fields, absence of cuts, and substantial purses have been designed to counteract the risk of gamers defecting to LIV Golf after the rival league was established a yr earlier.

Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, who have been members of the tour’s coverage board at the time, strongly supported the change as LIV was actively pursuing PGA Tour expertise.

Over the previous two years, signature golf occasions have persistently attracted prime-tier gamers to some of America’s premier programs. However, they’ve also restricted possibilities for much less established tour execs like Erik van Rooyen.

Fresh off his spectacular second-place end on Sunday, van Rooyen did not maintain back his ideas on this pattern. For all the insider scoops and updates from the world of golf, signal up for our unique publication masking the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and the whole lot in between.

Van Rooyen was candid, bordering on comedic, as he quipped, “How honest do you want me to be? I hate it,” He believes that tournaments with bigger swimming pools are inherently stronger, stating, “I strongly believe that the strongest fields are the ones with the most players in them. The guys on the PGA TOUR are so good. It’s so deep.”

Recognizing the mass appeal of {golfing} legends, he continued, “I get that you’ve got the Scotties of the world, the Rorys of the world, and people want to see them, it’s entertaining. Like the PGA Championship coming up, for example, I think it’s the strongest field in the game, similar to The Players.”

With a competitor’s coronary heart, van Rooyen expressed his need to problem the elite, “I love competing, so selfishly I want to compete against those guys. Again, really proud of playing my way into it … It is a good thing. I think good play needs to be rewarded. That’s part of why the PGA TOUR is the greatest tour in the world. It’s so deep, it’s so strong. But I think Rory always says it, just play better.”

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This is not the first time van Rooyen has taken a swing at the positions held by McIlroy and others who favor a smaller, more unique PGA Tour. Back at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2024, then ranked 66th in the world, he remarked on a level made by Wyndham Clark: “I saw Wyndham [Clark’s] comment. Two years ago, Wyndham was in the 100-125 spot.

“He would’ve misplaced his card, and now he is a main winner, and all of a sudden… And Rory, I do know he mentioned he needs the tour to be more cutthroat.

“Well, this is the most cutthroat sport there is; you miss the cut, you’re gone, bro. You’re not making money. … The NBA has over 300 guys playing. We have 144 guys playing [at The Players]; that’s not a lot, and more than half of them aren’t making money.”